AIG American General Life Insurance Company Review
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insur...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
UPDATED: Dec 4, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right life insurance coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident life insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one life insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different life insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about life insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything life insurance-related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by life insurance experts.
UPDATED: Dec 4, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right life insurance coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident life insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one life insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different life insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
AIG life insurance products include options for almost everyone. The company offers term insurance, guaranteed universal life, indexed universal life, guaranteed issue whole life, and many other choices. AIG even provides retirement services, travel insurance, and annuities.
As one of the oldest insurance companies, AIG has weathered many storms, including the 2008 financial crisis. AIG remains the largest commercial and industrial insurance underwriter in the United States.
Despite a few potential drawbacks, the company continues to offer quality insurance options. To find out if one of these options meets your needs, use the information in this in-depth AIG life insurance review.
AIG Life Insurance
- Top rated life insurance company
- Competitive rates on term, universal and whole life insurance
- Unique policy riders
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AIG Company History
The beginning of AIG dates back to 1919 in Shanghai, China. An American businessman by the name of Cornelius Vander Starr established American Asiatic Underwriters (AAU). This business went through several periods of reorganization and restructuring before becoming American International Group, Inc (AIG).
You may also see the company mentioned as American General Life Insurance. This is because AIG acquired American General Corporation in 2001. No matter what you call it, AIG is now one of the largest insurers in the world, serving over 90 million customers.
The company headquarters is located in New York City with additional offices operating in over 80 countries and most major U.S. cities, including Houston, TX, St. Paul, MN and Nashville, TN.
Many people remember AIG as a key player in the 2008 financial crisis. The federal government had to bail out the company for $182.3 billion, buying the majority of AIG stock. By 2012, the company had paid off its government loan, paying back a total of $205 billion.
In 2017, AIG restructured again, organizing its subsidiaries and departments into three segments – general insurance, life and retirement, and a technology-focused segment called Blackboard Insurance.
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AIG Company Ratings and Financial Strength
Due to the government bailout, the company has a mixed reputation. Some consumers are concerned about the financial strength of AIG. However, the company has recovered from the financial crisis and maintains very positive professional ratings from the leading rating agencies.
| A.M. Best | Fitch | Moody’s | S&P Global | Comdex | J.D. Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A (Excellent) | A+ (Strong) | A2 (Good) | A+ (Strong) | 80 | 741 |
Overview of AIG Life Insurance Products
AIG provides a wide range of insurance plans, including indexed universal life and term life. Some of the most popular AIG insurance options include:
- Select-A-Term (Term Insurance)
- Secure Lifetime GUL 3 (Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance)
- Indexed Universal (Indexed Universal Life Insurance)
- Guaranteed Issue Whole Life (GIWL)
Here is a detailed look at a few of the most popular AIG life insurance products.
Select-a-Term (Term Insurance)
AIG Select-a-Term is a fully customizable term life insurance coverage. The name of the coverage, “Select-a-Term” is because of the unique ability to pick contract lengths that are outside the traditional 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years. Select-a-Term offers up to 18 different fixed premium contract lengths starting from 10 years, 15 years and any number between 16 years up to a maximum of 35 years.
For example, with Select-a-Term you can pick a term length of 17 years, 23 years and so on, up to 35 years. For those who need term life insurance coverage for a specific amount of years outside of the traditional term lengths, Select-a-Term is term life insurance coverage for you.
Death benefit plans start as low as $100,000 and up to a maximum of $10,000,000. The coverage also includes a conversion option that allows for the policy to be converted into permanent insurance without evidence of insurability. This option is only available as long as it’s elected prior to age 70 or before the end of the level-premium period, whichever comes first.
The Select-a-Term policies also include multiple riders that you can add to cover specific circumstances. These riders include:
- Accidental Death Benefit – pays an extra death benefit of up to $250,000 if the death results from a qualifying accidental death.
- Child Rider – provides coverage for eligible children between 15 days and 19 years old.
- Waiver of Premium – waives premiums if you become totally disabled.
- Terminal Illness Rider – advances up to 50% of the death benefit after diagnosis of a terminal illness.
| ISSUE AGES: | Issue Ages |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| RIDERS: | Accidental Death Benefit (Optional) |
| CONVERTIBLE: | Yes up to age 70 or before the end of the level premium period, whichever comes first. |
| RENEWABLE: | To age 95 |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | *Competitive term rates especially for tobacco users |
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Secure Lifetime GUL 3
(Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance)
Secure Lifetime GUL 3 is permanent life insurance coverage packed with many features. It has easily been named as one of our best options for guaranteed universal life insurance coverage.
For starters, Secure Lifetime GUL 3 offers a fixed premium, cash value growth, and guaranteed death benefit to age 121. Included with the life insurance coverage is the Enhanced Surrender Value Rider. This rider offers a built-in return of premium feature that allows for the policy to be canceled for up to a full refund of all paid premiums. If coverage is surrendered after on the 20th anniversary year, 50% of the premiums will be returned back. When surrendering the policy on the 25th year, you will receive 100% of the premiums paid.
Secure Lifetime GUL 3 also offers a wide selection of optional policy riders that can be added to the coverage. Two riders that really stand out are the Accelerated Access Solution and Lifestyle Income Solution riders.
The Accelerated Access Solution is ideal for anyone who may be concerned about the costs associated with a chronic illness. This rider pays out a monthly cash benefit due to a qualifying chronic illness.
The Lifestyle Income Solution is a unique rider that is perfect for anyone that may have the slightest concern about outliving their money. Beginning at age 85, this rider will begin to payout a stream of income directly from the death benefit tax-free.
| ISSUE AGES: | 18-80 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $100,000-$10,000,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| GUARANTEED MINIMUM INTEREST RATES: | 2% |
| NO-LAPSE GUARANTEE PERIOD: | Age 121 |
| RIDERS: | Accelerated Access Solution |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | *Guaranteed death benefit |
AIG Indexed Universal Options
AIG offers two different Indexed Universal Life Insurance options. These options include:
- Max Accumulator+ (Indexed Universal Life)
- Value+ Protector (Indexed Universal Life)
Max Accumulator+ is a flexible indexed universal life insurance policy ideal for retirement planning. It includes long-term cash accumulation connected to the indexed market performance. This coverage is available to applicants ages 18-80 but is ideal for ages 35-55 that have time to allow the life insurance coverage to grow in cash.
Max Accumulator utilizes three different indexed accounts which include S&P 500, ML Strategic and PIMCO Global. The coverage also offers a guaranteed minimum interest of 0.25% along with a maximum cap of 13%.
Several optional policy riders can be added to the indexed universal life insurance coverage including living benefits and a guaranteed income for life rider.
Interested in applying without the need for an exam? This option is available if coverage is less than $500,000 and you are between the ages of 0-50.
Value+ Protector is a second flexible indexed universal life policy with added death benefit protection. It offers a balance between guaranteed universal life features and indexed universal life insurance.
This coverage offers many of the same policy features and riders as the Max Accumulator+ option but can provide a death benefit that is guaranteed to age 100.
While many indexed universal life insurance policies include a level of risk, both AIG indexed insurance products tend to perform well. The company does a great job of managing the risks to provide customers with stable earnings over the life of the policy.
Max Accumulator+ IUL
| ISSUE AGES: | 0-80 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $50,000-$10,000,000 |
NON-MEDICAL UNDERWRITING | Ages 0-50 Coverage Amounts $50,000-$499,999 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| GUARANTEED MINIMUM INTEREST RATES: | Index Accounts: 0.25% |
| INTEREST CREDITING CAP RATE: | 13% |
| INDEX ACCOUNTS: | *S&P 500 Index |
| MINIMUM NO-LAPSE GUARANTEE PERIOD: | 20 years or to the attained age of 75, not to be less than 10 years |
| RIDERS: | Income for Life Rider |
Value+ Protector IUL
| ISSUE AGES: | 0-85 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $50,000-$10,000,000 |
NON-MEDICAL UNDERWRITING | N/A |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | Preferred, Standard & Tobacco |
| GUARANTEED MINIMUM INTEREST RATES: | Index Accounts: 0.75% |
| INTEREST CREDITING CAP RATE: | 9.5% |
| INDEX ACCOUNTS: | *S&P 500 Index |
| MINIMUM NO-LAPSE GUARANTEE PERIOD: | To age 100 |
| RIDERS: | Cash Access If Strong Index Performance Feature (Included) |
Guaranteed Issue Whole Life (GIWL)
AIG Guaranteed issue whole life insurance provides an option for those who may not be able to qualify for coverage due to medical reasons. This plan includes maximum coverage of up to $25,000 and you can absolutely not be denied coverage as long as you are between the ages of 50-85.
You get guaranteed coverage and living benefits that you can access if diagnosed with a terminal or chronic illness. The living benefit features are included with the life insurance coverage at no additional costs.
You do not need to answer any medical underwriting questions and approval can be made within the same day as applying for coverage. AIG will not deny your application for existing medical issues.
IMPORTANT: AIG Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance is a graded death benefit policy. This means that the full death benefit is not payable until the start of policy year 2. If death occurs prior to policy year 2, the payable death benefit will be equal to a full return of premiums plus 10% interest. The only exception to the 2-year wait is if death occurred in the first two years as a result of an accident. Starting policy year 3, the full death benefit is payable regardless of how death has occured.
| AIG Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance | |
|---|---|
| ISSUE AGES: | 50-85 |
| DEATH BENEFIT AMOUNTS: | $5,000-$25,000 |
| HEALTH CLASSES: | N/A Guaranteed Approval |
| RIDERS: | Chronic Illness Acceleration Benefit (Included) |
| COVERAGE DURATION: | Guaranteed to age 121 |
DEATH BENEFIT PAYOUT | Policy Years 1-2: 110% of all premiums paid |
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AIG Quality of Life (QoL)
AIG offers an additional line of life insurance products called Quality of Life (QoL) that provides not only death benefit protection, but also living benefit coverage. Quality of Life insurance policies are available on most of the life insurance options and include a built-in living benefit riders. These riders can advance a portion of the death benefit up to a maximum of $2,000,000 after the diagnosis of a chronic, critical, or terminal illness.
AIG offers four types of QoL policies, including:
- QoL Flex Term
- QoL Guarantee Plus GUL II
- QoL Value+ Protector
- QoL Max Accumulator+
QoL life insurance products cost a little extra but make up for it in with the added living benefit protection. When compared to other companies that offer the same features, such as ANICO and Transamerica, QoL is often priced the best.
Key Underwriting Advantages with AIG American General Life Insurance
| Preferred Plus | Preferred | Standard Plus | Standard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobacco Use | None Past 5 Years | None Past 3 Years | None Past 1 Years | None Past 1 Years |
| Cholesterol | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| Chol/HDL | 4.5 (5.0 Age 45+) | 5.5 (6.0 Age 45+) | 6.5 (7.0 Age 45+) | 6.5 (7.0 Age 45+) |
| Blood Pressure | 135/85 | 140/85 | 145/90 | 145/90 |
ANXIETY: Best health class will be considered if the condition is mild/moderate with good control of symptoms and no more than 2 daily medications have been prescribed.
CANCER: Possible best health class with a past history of non-melanoma skin cancer, cervical cancer, stage 1 seminoma, papillary thyroid cancer or remote history of melanoma in situ.
DEPRESSION: Ages 30-65 are eligible for best health class if the condition is minor and mild in degree.
CIGAR SMOKERS: Cigar smokers who smoke no more than 1 cigar per week can be eligible for non-tobacco rates.
FAMILY HISTORY: Gender-specific cancer ignored.
MARIJUANA USE: If use is no more than twice per year may qualify for the best rates.
MILITARY: American General Life Insurance will underwrite active duty and reservist military as long as there are no pending orders to military hot zones.
PILOTS: American General Life Insurance provides some of the best life insurance rates for pilots.
PRE-DIABETIC: Ages 50 and up will be considered for standard rates if A1C is under 6.4 and no formal diagnosis has been made. If A1C is under 6.0 with no medication the best health class will be considered.
RECENT NON-SMOKERS: Tobacco-free for 12 months are eligible for standard plus rates.
Who is AIG Direct?
AIG Direct is a quoting service offered by AIG. The goal of this service is to provide visitors to the AIG website with an easy way to get quotes for coverage.
Unfortunately, many people find that AIG Direct life insurance plans connect them with pushy sales agents. AIG Direct comes from Matrix Direct, a division of AIG. Instead of an individual sales agent, you may end up speaking with a representative trying to push you to purchase additional insurance.
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Additional AIG Products
Besides insurance, AIG offers a wide variety of financial services, including retirement services, fixed annuities, and even AIG auto insurance.
The fixed annuities offer guaranteed interest earnings and protection from volatile markets. The retirement services include savings plans tailored to your individual needs. You also gain access to FutureFIT University, a resource for financial planning education.
AIG used to offer accidental death insurance but that coverage has since been discontinued from their line of insurance products. Beware of older online reviews of AIG as there are several out there still showing that this option is currently available.
Is AIG Good for Life Insurance?
When you combine the variety of insurance policies and their individual options, AIG offers hundreds of choices. However, some of these choices may not provide the right solution for everyone. Here are the main pros and cons of choosing AIG life insurance products.
Pros
- Positive professional ratings from most rating agencies
- Variety of selections to suit almost everyone
- Affordable premium payments for most insurance products
- Underwriting policies for individuals in high-risk categories
- Built-in living benefits at no extra cost with many insurance plans
- Fast underwriting process with electronic application options
- Online account management options, including electronic payments
Cons
- Previous mistakes almost forced AIG to default on their investments
- The customer service department has a mixed reputation
- The company offers an overwhelming selection of insurance products
- Many of the policies require a medical examination
AIG offers one of the largest selections of insurance products. You should have no trouble finding an insurance policy that meets your specific needs.
The variety of options can also be a drawback. While you can speak with an individual agent to find the right policy, the choices can be overwhelming.
Many customers also complain about AIG customer service. When examining AIG life insurance reviews, common complaints include long wait times for phone calls, pushy sales agents, and confusing options. However, many other insurance providers also have mixed customer service scores.
You should also keep in mind that many of these policies require medical exams. If you have an existing medical condition that puts you in a high-risk category, you will likely pay higher premiums.
The company has a few drawbacks, but the underwriting strengths help balance things out. You have the option to apply for most plans online, receiving a quote within minutes.
Depending on your medical history, AIG provides a faster underwriting process compared to many other insurance providers. The company also has options available for those in high-risk categories.
Along with these benefits, AIG allows you to manage most of the details of your plan via an online portal. After you log in, you can view your plan, make payments, and contact customer service.
Summary – Should You Get a Quote for AIG Life Insurance?
Despite needing a massive government bailout over a decade ago, AIG is one of the most financially secure insurance companies in the world.
AIG also offers a streamlined application process. You can get an AIG life insurance quote online for most of the available policies.
2019 marks the 100-year anniversary of the company. AIG continues to offer a diverse selection of insurance products. With dozens of AIG life insurance options, you should find an option that suits your requirements.
No matter your health or age, you can get coverage to protect your loved ones in the event of death or disability.
If you want to avoid a medical exam, one of the guaranteed life insurance policies may offer
the right solution. These policies include fast underwriting and guaranteed benefits, even if
you have a medical condition that puts you in a high-risk category.
Many of the other AIG life insurance policies also include the option to skip the medical exam, depending on the coverage amount and your age.
Keep in mind that AIG has many other policies. If you want affordable premiums, online account management, and personalized options, AIG likely has an insurance policy to match your requirements.
The company may lack exceptional customer service, but AIG remains a secure choice for quality life insurance. For an AIG life insurance quote, be sure to use the quote comparison tool located here on this page. For questions about AIG life insurance products, please be sure to reach out to us and a licensed agent will help assist you.
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insur...
Farmers CSR for 4 Years
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about life insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything life insurance-related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by life insurance experts.